Published 11:55 am, Monday, February 10, 2014

Photo: KRISTI NIX

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A 32-year-old man working on an underground conduit for cables was killed when a 15-foot trench collapsed on top of him at a construction site in Rosharon around 10:16 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 9). Firefighters from the Pearland Fire Department and the Houston Fire Department Heavy Rescue Division worked more than eight hours to recover the man's body. Flowers and other tokens of remembrance were left at the site of accident Sunday. less

A 32-year-old man working on an underground conduit for cables was killed when a 15-foot trench collapsed on top of him at a construction site in Rosharon around 10:16 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 9). Firefighters from ... more

A Houston man working on an underground conduit died when a trench collapsed on him Friday (Feb. 7). Proper safety procedures were not followed that could have saved the man’s life, according to reports from the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department.

In the hours before the cave-in, crews worked in the dark using heavy equipment to dig out a 15-foot-deep trench at a site near County Road 58 in Rosharon late Friday evening. Around 9:30 p.m., witnesses said the man jumped into the trench to clear a portion by hand and was buried alive when the walls caved in around him.

The Pearland Fire Department and the Houston Fire Department Heavy Rescue Unit rushed to the scene but were unable to save the man.

Firefighters spent over eight hours at the scene working overnight to safety locate the victim’s body.

The 32-year-old man was part of a six-man crew associated with Interfacing Company of Texas (ICTX), a communications infrastructure company based in The Woodlands.

ICTX company officials did not immediately return calls for comment.

Complete details of the trench collapse are not yet known, but Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department officials confirmed the trench hadn’t been shored up as required by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The man was also not wearing a harness or other safety equipment normally provided in below-ground construction.

OSHA requirements also require workers have access to a means of escape such as a ladder or a ramp when working in a trench more than four-feet deep.

Trench collapses are one of the most common causes of death among construction workers with an average of two workers killed each month, according to OSHA statistics.